Dog Front Door Safety

Got a doggo who forgets his or her manners the moment the doorbell rings? Pushing past you to escape or jumping up at guests? Check out our top tips for the most common unwanted behaviours and keep your pooch safe at the front door!

Door Dashing

Why do dogs try to run away as soon as the door is open? It could be that your doggo is bored and is desperate to get out and explore that big, bright world out there. Other dogs who don’t get enough time outdoors might see this as a great opportunity and seize it with both paws!

Teaching your pooch the ‘stay’ command is key if they are a door dasher.

First, ask him to sit and then say “stay” keeping your hand up and still, only rewarding with treats and pats once you have given the command to move.

Start with very short ‘stay’ duration at first, building up to five, ten, twenty second durations before rewarding.

If your pooch gets up and moves before you’ve said he can, start from the beginning again with the ‘sit’ command followed by a firm ‘stay’.

Once your dog can ‘stay’ in front of you, try taking a step backwards. If your dog gets up and follows you, guide them back to their waiting spot and start again

Wait until your dog can stay for more than 30 seconds with you more than 10 feet away before attempting the command near the front door.

Start by using the command and then rattling the door handle – this gives your dog a visual and auditory cue that the door is about to be opened. If he moves towards the door, take him back to his waiting spot and start all over again

Every time he stays, go and reward him for sticking to the same spot with a treat or his favourite toy

Once he can stay with the door handle being rattled, start opening the door just a crack and open more and more over time until you can open the door fully without him moving from his waiting spot.

You can eventually work up to having a willing volunteer knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell. Your dog is likely to respond to the doorbell trigger but gently lead him back to his waiting spot and try again. If he gets worked up and barks and barks, completely ignore the behaviour and then, once calm, start the ‘stay’ command all over again.

Remember! This is not going to be an overnight fix – you’ll likely need a couple of weeks of daily 10-15 minute practices before your pooch gets the hang of it. As with all training, patience and consistency are your best friends!

Greeting guests

If you have an over excitable dog who jumps to greet all your guests, whether they love dogs or not, check our article on how to stop your dog jumping up. Again, it won’t be a quick fix but with a little time and effort from all family members, your pooch can learn some manners and greet guests appropriately!

Does your dog have another annoying front door habit? Let us know in the comments below and we could help you out with an article about it!